VILLANOVA, Pa. – The opening home contest of 2026 for Villanova men's lacrosse will feature a local rival as the Wildcats (1-0) will welcome the Saint Joseph's Hawks to Villanova Stadium on Saturday for a 12 p.m. City Six standoff.

RANK THOSE 'CATS        
The national polls were all over the 'Cats following Saturday's top-10 victory at Penn State, meaning Villanova catapulted up from unranked to mentioned in all three major polls. The highest rankings came from both the USILA and USA Lacrosse Magazine, who had the Wildcats pulling in at No. 14 while the KANE Media Poll placed VU at No. 16, just ahead of future opponents Towson and Rutgers.

CONFERENCE COMPENSATION        
Inaugural weekly awards in the BIG EAST were also kind to the Wildcats as a trio of Villanovans earned mention on Monday. Kessy Cox picked up Freshman of the Week after a two-goal effort in his collegiate debut, while VU's leading scorer Nick Lucchesi (hat trick and assist) and top LSM Jake Melchionni (six GB, two CT) each earned selection to the Honor Roll.

BALANCE IN THE BIG-TIME BOUT    
The Wildcats got themselves a massive victoy over Penn State in part thanks to a balanced effort offensively, getting points from 10 different players against the nation's No. 7 team. Outside of All-BIG EAST selection Colin Michener's two goals and an assist, five other players managed a multi-point outing including all three starting midfielders as Lucchesi led the team in points with four, Cox scored the first two goals of his career with a pair of second-half tallies and Lucas Newton totaled a VU-best two assists. But it was the two oldest members of the squad who combined for the biggest moments as graduate midfielder Dan Martin scored the game winner and tying goal in the fourth while fifth-year attackman Luke Raymond assisted that overtime score in addition to two goals on the day. As Villanova looks to replace the now-graduated Matt Licata, efforts across the board like this will be crucial.

A BIG FIVE BATTLE        
Two historic foes in the Philadelphia area renew their rivalry on Saturday as Saint Joseph's makes a return to Villanova Stadium for the first time in nearly 20 years. The Wildcats own an 11-3 advantage over their City Six compatriot, though last year marked just the second time these programs had met with VU head coach Mike Corrado at the helm of his alma mater. Most of the contests historically between the programs came under former head coach Randy Marks who retired after 2006, meaning only a pair of matchups have come since 2007. The ranked Hawks took down the 'Cats 12-8 last year when the rivalry resumed despite 15 faceoff wins from Villanova's Ryan Cunningham and nine saves for Denis Fargione.

HEAR ABOUT THE HAWKS

• Saint Joseph's is 0-1 on the year, falling 20-2 to No. 2/3 Syracuse last week after the season opener at NJIT in late January was cancelled due to cold weather.
• SJU is under new leadership as head coach Scott Meehan is in his first year leading the program, though he'd been on staff as an assistant for the last eight years.
• St. Joe's got unassisted goals from Griffin Mallory and Carter Truesdell against the Orange, Conor Trant won five faceoffs and Trae Ika scooped up three ground balls.

GAMEDAY DETAILS
Tickets are sold online at this link or by walking up to the will call window with both season and single game tickets available for purchase. Fans can also buy parking passes online at the same link, otherwise it's $20 day-of to buy a parking spot in the A2 lot behind the stadium. Be advised, on-site parking can only be purchased with credit cards, cash will not be accepted.

The bout will stream live on ESPN+ while statistics for the contest are available on StatBroadcast.